You Begin a fat loss phase or “diet”, your chipping away at body fat nicely then
BOOM!
it stalls & the last pouch below your belly button or on your glutes won’t budge, why?
What can we do to shift stubborn fat?
To start off, stubborn fat is WAT (white adipose tissue) known as subcutaneous fat (below the skin). It has very little mitochondria (cell powerhouses) and is mostly made up of triglycerides (stored fat), water, and a small bit of other matter.
So why is it stubborn LOM? Well, Im glad you asked, here are the main reasons why.
1. The size of the fat cells (adipocytes) is much smaller compared to other areas which lose fat faster, harder to get the fat out of the cell
2. Reduced blow flow, in order for fat to be burned it must be mobilized and transported by binding to a protein known as albumin in the blood, less blood flow means less transportation (67% less blood flow has been seen in women lower bodies).
3. Adrenoceptor type, simply put, we have two main type pf receptors catecholamines like adrenaline and nor-adrenaline bind too, Alpha & Beta, Beta-2 receptors are good as they promote fat burning, Alpha receptors inhibit it, one issue can be the ratio of Alpha to Beta receptors in areas of stubborn fat with Alpha being more dominant.
So is there anything we can do to speed things up?
Possibly.
Caffeine can be very useful as it raises catecholamine levels in the blood when taken pre-workout, adrenaline activated CAMP which increases HSL which in turn, stimulates fat burning. If you consume caffeine regularly, it will not be as helpful.
Spot reduction? It doesn’t work. Well, it does, but only within individuals already at very lean body composition and through specific interventions that, for most people, are not practically applicable or wise to implement. Heating the localized areas through certain creams and wraps can once again help blood flow and mobilize the Fat Tissue in the stubborn area but again, this is only for that already lean individuals chase that last %.
Increased Aerobic activity and keeping the areas warm may help improve blood flow and decrease vasoconstriction in the area (another reason to do cardio)
There are some supplements like Yohimbine HCL and topical Liquorice (yes I mean like you eat) to be used transdermally but the effect is minimal.
The number one main thing, as Annoying as it may be , will be consistency, getting into the finer details of tracking & Adherence throughout the process as it goes on where those .001% factors could be 5-10% Factors.